Kentucky Books

We read this book in less than a week. It's a great read-aloud or personal reading. My daughters (7 & 10) loved it!

Eleven-year-old Sarah Moore was devastated when her father decided the family would move to the Kentucky frontier at the start of the American Revolution. She doesn't want to leave Virginia, where her friends and the only home she has ever known are, and she worries about her oldest brother, who has left home to join the Patriot army. She prays and prays to stay in Virginia but her prayers go unanswered. The journey through the wilderness to Kentucky is dangerous as the family struggles through forests, across rivers, and over mountains. Reaching Kentucky, the Moores must struggle to build a home in the untamed wilderness. Sarah is desperately lonely and longs for her home in Virginia, vowing to return as soon as she can. But as time goes by she begins to realize that home is not a place, but being with your family.

I really liked the setting of this book and the details of pioneer life on the early frontier. I would recommend this book to young readers who enjoy stories about pioneer or colonial life. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

Home on Stoney Creek is a wonderful book. It takes you through the challanges that Sarah Moore faces leaving all that she knows, to go live in an untamed wilderness. It tells of the trials of moving, something many readers can relate to.

I am Bob Bahr's nephew and go to college at WKU. He is my dad's brother. No kidding. I have lived in louisville all my life. And I am here to tell you that this book has it all. Everything inside of it is all true, and the best part, the amazement of this woderful city of Louisville is caputured in the simplest ways. All suggestions that are made in this book come from many interviews and suggestions from experts. The advice on golf courses comes from my uncle jim. My uncle jim's wife is the sister of my dad and bob. And my uncle played golf for bellermine university and is an avid golfer, so the insight he offers is well worth reading. This book was written very well. And although Bob Bahr is my uncle, and you think i am just saying this cause he is my uncle, you are wrong. i would tell you if it was bad. But it's not, it is worth your money. So if you visit Louisville, pick this book up, and enjoy Derby City!!!!!!

Just go back from Louisville and used this book for EVERYTHING! Three years after it was published I was still able to use it to cram so much into my visit. I planned visits to historical sites, restaurants and points of interest every day with this guide. Two things you have to do when buying this edition is buy a good city map and call to make sure whatever restaurant you want to go to is still in business (only happened once). Louisville has so much to offer, great food, fun and so much history (2nd only to Boston for the number of historical sites). If you don't have a guide you will miss so many things!

James Nold and Bob Bahr's "The Insiders' Guide to Louisville" is crammed with interesting, honest and friendly information about the city they both love and call home. From restuarants to spectator sports, from nightlife to real estate, these authors offer an wonderfully imformative introduction to Louisville. On every couple of pages, they include "Insider Tips" to add personal advice to their guide book.

I was a little disapointed with the lack of maps. I would have liked to see numbered maps corresponding to the venues and places they discussed. So, if you are using this as your only guide, buy a city map, too!

On the whole, however, this is a knowledgable guide book filled with clear advice.

This book rocks. I know its probably written for smart people, but even if you're not too smart, you'll like it. Very informative. This Haberski guy really knows his movies. He must have developed his love for cinema while at SUNY Albany, enjoying movies with his buddies at the campus cinema.

Scott Cooper

Within the last century were developed different art forms based on new technology. No one had ever before heard a radio play, and television, well, let's not get into a discussion about whether that is art or not. But the same discussion about movies has been going on for a long while. It even seems to make a difference as to whether you regard them as "movies," "film," or "cinema." Let's use movie, for that is what Raymond J. Haberski, Jr., uses in _It's Only a Movie!: Films and Critics in American Culture_ (University Press of Kentucky). If you like thinking about movies, rather than just sitting for some entertainment, and are interested in the American history of film criticism, this is a book you will enjoy.

That movies are an art form is a proposition that has been long debated. It would seem to me that if one simply considers the films of theatrical productions (like, say, _Rope_ or _A Long Day's Journey Into Night_), it becomes very easy to answer the question in the affirmative, but none of the players in Haberski's volume seems to have performed this exercise. But even if we allow that such efforts are truly art, does that make _The Mummy Returns_ art, too? I would say yes, but perhaps a better answer is "Who cares?" Even so, there are lots of people who have cared about the issue, from the beginning of the movies. The first critics of film recognized that movies were taking up a space in culture somewhere between fine art and mindless amusement, and movie criticism has hovered in discussion over where they should actually go ever since. Haberski gives a fine summary of how critics looked at the silent movies, and how (when the Supreme Court decided they were products, not free speech), criticism was used in formation of censorship boards. It has an excellent chapter on Theodore Dreiser's attempt to get his novel, _An American Tragedy_, filmed in what he thought was a proper fashion. Dreiser took Paramount to court; like critics if the time, he wanted studios to "get serious" about art uncorrupted by commerce. He lost. Here is also an excellent summary of the famous Sarris / Kael feud over "auteur theory."

Haberski obviously cares for his subject. Painstaking research into this narrow field of endeavor is easily apparent in all his chapters. He has a sense of humor, and does not take these battles (or himself) with excessive seriousness, as his title indicates. There is a good deal to be enjoyed here by anyone interested in 20th century culture and film.

As a film critic for several online sites, I share with others of my
vocation a distress that while the public may be reading us, the
reviews themselves seem to be influencing only a few in their
choices of films. I like to say defensively that it is not the critic's
function to operate as a Consumer Reports guide, to send people
to the theaters or to guide them into settling back into their
couches. But the writing is on the wall; or, rather, the writing
should be there but it isn't: critics have lost much of the authority
they once had to influence the public. In a short book filled with
lush prose, Richard J. Haberski Jr. strives to tell us why critical
authority has declined albeit less rapidly than the current
NASDAQ chart, topping his tome off with a mixed conclusion.
On the one hand movies are such a joyful medium, the film world
may not really suffer for the breakdown in authority. On the other
hand, "It is sad that today movie critics appear powerless ot help
us discover the art of moviegoing."

Tracing a brief film history encompassing the impact of select
organizations like the National Board of Review on the movie
choices available to us, Haberski's book is most enlightening and
relevant (at least to critics like me) when it referees debates
among several major writers such as Pauline Kael, Andrew
Sarris, Stanley Kauffmann and Dwight MacDonald--writers who
have had often divergent viewpoints on such issues as the
importance of the director, the gap between the younger and
older audience, the relative values of elitism and democracy, and
most of all the big question of whether movies should even be
considered an art that justifies critical analysis.

Theory aside, the general public felt comfortable with the idea of
art until the dawn of the Pop era signalled by the ideas and
paintings of Andy Warhol. The book reaches a high point in its
examination of the Big Debate between the Andrew ("auteur
theory) Sarris--who believes that the director is the all-important
creator of a film, and the late Pauline ("It's Only a Movie!") Kael -
-who was known for toughness toward sugarcoated movies like
"The Sound of Music" and praised almost universally condemned
fare like "Bonnie and Clyde." Despite her staunch advocacy of
strong films, Kael amassed a large readership with her disdain
for pretension and love for good films whether or not they had
"something to say."

"It's Only a Movie!" is a must-read for critics and would make a
sure-fire addition to the library of movie buffs everywhere.

This is a beautiful book!

My company invites guests from around the world to the Derby and we have given this book as a gift for the last several years.

Unfortunately it is no longer in print.

This is an excellent book! It is definately a must read for any horse racing fan!

Nice book, beautiful color pictures. everything you'd want to know about the Kentucky Derby.

Lake Monster Mysteries, by Benjamin Radford and Joe Nickell, is a genuinely excellent skeptically-leaning book about the various rumored creatures of the world's freshwater lakes.

The book focuses primarily on alleged monsters of the lakes of New England and eastern Canada, but it also addresses the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland, a famous lake monster in British Columbia, and a variety of creatures from around the world.

The book is written clearly and concisely, and is a fast read, and by the end of it I think most readers will not only have a good idea of how to think about lake monsters, but also a good idea of how one ought to think about all sorts of strange phenomena.

I found its explorations of "expectant attention"--or how witnesses expecting to see something report far different experiences and interpretations of events than those who aren't expecting anything--to be especially helpful.

The best part of this book, though, is how it's such a great showcase of hands-on skepticism--not the armchair variety that so many true believers love to deride; it shows what real skeptical investigation can and should be. Radford and Nickell track down witnesses and original sources, go to the lakes, perform tests, scrutinize photos and videos, check every fact, and keep their minds open until the evidence leads them to solid conclusions.

I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone interested in cryptozoology, skepticism, or just an entertaining but scholarly read. I'd love to read a sequel to it--perhaps about sea monsters, or perhaps merely about other notable lake monsters.

CSI investigators Ben Radford and Joe Nickell provide overviews of the most famous lake monsters in the world, and detailed analysis of the best evidence that has been provided to date. They do this in a series of essays which cover most of the well known lake monsters of North America, as well as Loch Ness and brief observations of other world wide lake monster phenomena. The book looks for the best evidence of mysterious creatures and analyzes that evidence very critically. Photos, illustrations, and detailed citations will provide both the credulous and the skeptical with plenty to think about. I, for one, am anxious to see some good video of otters crossing a lake after hearing how frequently people mistake such a natural occurrence for something much more mysterious.

If you're an amateur cryptozoologist and you're going to be looking for lake monsters, be sure and pack some good cameras, some measuring equipment, some sun-block, and a copy of "Lake Monster Mysteries." It will give you something very good to read for what might be quite a long wait.

When two authors active in skeptic organization CSICOP decide to publish a book about lake monsters it's not much of an accomplishment to correctly assume what kind of book it'll turn out to be. Skeptical analyses, critical discussions, debunking of earlier research that has often been flawed and/or incorrect, and on-site investigations and interviews.

And, well, that's exactly what Lake Monster Mysteries is all about. Throughout the book Joe Nickell and colleague Benjamin Radford presents a number of lakes in the U.S. and Canada (as well as Loch Ness in Scotland) that all claim to be the home of one or more lake monsters. The reader is presented with a short but informative background to each lake and its alleged monsters, offered details about some of the most important research to date, and is taken along with Nickell and Radford as they carry out their fieldwork and analyses of some of the most famous photographs and sightings.

Which is all both interesting and worthwhile, but to the reader who has an earlier interest in these lakes and their mysterious inhabitants the book fails to offer very much new material. However, this doesn't mean it's not a very good contribution to cryptozoological research. Nickell and Radford - who not very surprisingly come out as extremely skeptical to everyone and everything - are very efficient in their work when they point out many of the errors that precious researchers have done and later used in their own books, and it's difficult not to agree with them when they show the reader how something as mundane as a floating log or otters swimming in a straight line very easily can fool even the most experienced of observer and create the illusion that it's really a slime sea serpent cruising along the surface of the water.

It's not a very thick book though, and you'll finish it in a heartbeat. The lakes under investigation are all situated in the U.S. or Canada: Lake Champlain, Lake Memphremagog, Silver Lake, Lake Crescent, Lake George, and Lake Okanagan. True, Loch Ness also has a chapter of its own, but neither Nickell nor Radford visit the lake in person, and those mysterious lakes from the rest of the world that are mentioned at the end of the book aren't given very much attention.

Therefore "Investigating the World's Most Elusive Creatures" is somewhat misleading, and should have been changed to "Investigating North America's Most Elusive Creatures". Furthermore, it's sometimes easy to get the feeling that Nickell and Radford have been somewhat in too much of a hurry when dismissing the existence of the lake monsters, after having spent a day or two at the lake without seeing anything unusual and thus concluding that there's nothing unusual to be seen.

But the good outweighs the bad, and all in all Lake Monster Mysteries is a sweet read indeed. The most fascinating chapter is without a doubt the one about Lake Okanagan and its monster Ogopogo. Here the authors make a detour from the perspective of the hardcore skeptic and spend time discussing the folklore surrounding the lake, and if this had been done in the other chapters as well the final score would have been close to the highest possible.

Definitive biography
Jennifer Weber's recent popular work on the Copperhead movement has challenged many of Frank Klement's contentions that Peace Democrats were harmless, if racist, dissenters who were primarily concerned with constitutional liberties and Abraham Lincoln's expansion of federal powers. Vallandigham was the foremost northern opponent of Lincoln and the prosecution of the Civil War; serving three terms in congress and running an unsuccessful campaign for governor of Ohio while in political exile during 1863.
Klement clearly admired Valladigham as a proponent of fundament liberties, including the freedom to decent during wartime. The subject does emerge in a sympathetic light, although he was clearly bigoted and self-righteous. The author does not deny these traits in his subject. Although I do not share Klement's contentions that copperheads were harmless, his biography of Vallandigham does not appear to be in need of revision. Klement's does a fine job of tracing the important moments of Vallidigham's life in spite of a lack of primary material from the subject. It is double that a more critical examination of Vallandigham would surpass Klement's work in value.

Author Frank L. Klement (with tongue firmly in cheek) once told an audience that there were only two imortant central figures in the Civil War: Lincoln and Clement L. Vallandigham; the subject of this disputable biography. One must understand that Frank L. Klement is a revisionist historian with 62% of his 221 published items anti-Lincoln. Attacking Lincoln, the most sacred icon in American history, for blatant illegalities in violation of civil liberties caused a sensation in the histrorical community when it was first introduced. Klement's contention that the Copperhead movement was not a threat to the union has generally been accepted by major Lincoln scholars including James Macpherson. The question remains how far can civil liberties be protected before they endanger national security. In the case of Clement Vallandigham the outer limits were reached in a time when many, including Lincoln, felt that constitutional liberties would lose the nation. Klement's thesis has gained more respectability since the dissent of Viet Nam, but the problem presented by Vallandigham has really never been resolved. Vallandigham won two out of eight elections for congressman from Ohio. Preaching preservation of the union with slavery intact, he believed the South could not be coerced into reentering the union. The Ohio congressman was the spokesman for many in the midwest who favoured agriculture over industry, opposed equality for blacks, and wanted to continue the balance of power the midwest played in the rivalry between North and South. Had this been all to Vallandigham he would have been written off as a hopeless reactionary. But the Dayton congressman was also a liberal, speaking out against arbitrary arrests, executive usurpation, as well as supporting abolishment of capital punishment, Jewish rabbis as army chaplains and free trade. The Ohioan was also-according to James Horan-a child prodigy learning the alphabet at age two and learning to speak both Latin and Greek at age twelve. (see Horan's CONFEDERATE AGENT,PA.18). No physical coward, Vallandigham courted martyrdom by defying federal authorities. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment by General Burnside (upheld by the court in EX PARTE VALLANDIGHAM). Wisely, Lincoln dumped him over the border into Dixie, ignoring the gadfly wdhen he attended the Chicago Democratic Convention of 1864. Klement's Vallandigham comes across as an insufferable self-righteous prig who was neutralized by Lincoln. But Vallandigham-the faithful son of a Calvinist Huguenot minister-always believed he would be vindicated by history. While defending a client in a murder case Vallandigham grabbed the wrong pistol and killed himself. He has largely been forgotten by posterity. The bullet that ended Lincoln's life, on the otherhand, made him immortal. Such is the verdict of history.

Frank Klement's bio of the most controversial and yet largely forgotten figure of the Civil War era is one that all scholars should read. It is also interesting enough to tickle a general history reader's fancy. The one flaw is that Klement likes his main character a bit too much. Clement L. Vallandigham was an obnoxious, negrophobic, Republican-hating gadfly (the title of one of the chapters) whose stick-it-in-your-eye attitude both in and out of Congress made him unappealing even within his Democratic party. Klement regularly refers to Vallandigham's severest critics as "bigots" (largely true), but never does he label Vallandigham with that title, even though he deserved it. Klement's explanation as to why Vallandigham lost the Ohio governor's race in 1863 is lopsided, just bad luck after the victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg and the repelling of John Hunt Morgan's raid into Ohio. Klement seems unable to admit that many people passionately hated Vallandigham, not the least of whom were the soldiers fighting in the field for the cause against which he spoke so vehemently. (Sound familiar here in 2006?) Nonetheless, Clement Vallandigham was a force during his time and became an icon to civil rights after Ambrose Burnside ordered his arrest and trial and Lincoln banished him to the South. He never accepted the fact that war might require a different approach to civil liberties. (Speaking of Burnside, there is an extraordinary error on page 122. Klement refers to Burnside's defeat Dec. 13, 1862, at the battle of Chancellorsville and repeats it further down the page. That battle, of course, was Fredericksburg. Chancellorsville occurred the following May. Forgive Klement. That kind of error is easy to make even when you know better, as he surely did. But where was the editor?)

Not read the book but I bet it makes no mention of the raid that Lincoln knew a lot about but managed to avoid being blamed for because Stanton burnt the incriminating documents. THe Dahlgren/ Fitzpatrick Raid is a massive blot on Lincoln's supposed character.
Alan Lowe, Manchester Metropolitan University

This was such an engrossing and captivating book that I read it in only a couple of days. Of all of the many, many, many books already published about President Lincoln, this one is a most worthy addition to the canon. For many people who have grown up treasuring or swearing by urban legends or outright historical falsehoods (such as Betsy Ross making the first American flag or President Washington chopping down a cherry tree), it can be hard to be confronted with the facts demolishing the legends, but intellectual honesty and historical truth should matter more than preserving a myth just because it makes one feel good or because it's been repeated so often that it's taken on the stature of truth.

I've read a lot about President Lincoln since I was a child, but some of the legends in this book were new to even me, such as the stories about his supposed out of wedlock birth, his alleged late-night baptism in a freezing river, and "Peanut John," the boy who held Booth's horse while he was inside of Ford's Theatre on that fateful night. Other topics covered include Dr. Samuel Mudd (was he or wasn't he an innocent doctor caught in the wrong place at the wrong time?), the true nature of the relationship between the young Abe and Ann Rutledge (I was kind of disappointed to learn that they may not have had a romance, though there is still no conclusive evidence in either direction), the modern-day myth about President Lincoln being gay, the "lost" draft of the Gettysburg Address, and Andrew Potter, the man who never was. Some of these legends may be more interesting to Lincoln scholars than to the general public, but they're all interesting. Some of them even made me laugh, like the one about his supposed true paternity and the totally implausible scenario for his alleged secret late-night baptism in the freezing December weather. There's something in here for everyone who has more than a passing interest in our greatest president.

Most of Lincoln Legends is directed at buffs attracted by such arcane topics as the provenance of the Lincoln "birthplace" cabin, the final resting place (or more likely, places) of Ann Rutledge, whether Lincoln could have been baptized by immersion in the Sangamon River, and assorted odd notions about the assassination. A few chapters are of greater significance, among them the one spiking the myth of a "gay Lincoln" and the thorough examination of the "deceptive doctor," Samuel Alexander Mudd.

Steers writes well enough, but the book might have been improved by a more vigorous application of the editorial pen. Steers' method is usually to begin by laying out the mythological tale at perhaps too great a length and then to demolish the myth at the end of the chapter. This course often leads to wordy repetition. Books about myths and hoaxes are often fun to read; and this one is no exception, although it would have been better if it had been say, fifty pages shorter.

Clark is from the same town in eastern Kentucky that my Mother is. I spent a lot of time out there as a child so it made this book that much more enjoyable. Clark talks about his childhood growing up in eastern Kentucky, being a "river rat", hunting, fishing and trapping to make money, chicken fights, corrupt greedy landlords, whiskey bootleggers, dogs, the constant threat of floods, fiddle playing, the very folkish pagan like characters that inhabited the hills and communed with the "spirits", all this and lots more. This is a great read. Clark is second only to Jesse Stuart as far as recording an authentic real voice of eastern Kentucky.

This book is written so well I have read it many times. It is set in the depression era and brings you to that time with laughter and tears. Billy C. CLark describes small town living along the Big Sandy River which was once the cities life. I think people of all ages would love this heart felt book.

I have liked this book ever since I read it more than twenty-five years ago. It is slightly bitter in tone, but there were reasons for that. People should treat one another better. Town people are not any better than "river rats", and from my point of view I would rather raise a river rat than a town brat.

Clark went on to graduate from the University of Kentucky, and become a prolific writer. ("Sourwood" Tales is one of the best which I read even before "A Long Row to Hoe"), and literature professor.

He is, in my opinion, among the best of the living Kentucky writers.

This book holds amazing powers, the photos, the writing, and the caves. I love this book. I gave it to my 12 year old twins for their birthdays last year.


KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!

Photographer Raymond Klass has done an outstanding job of capturing the beauty of Mammoth Cave National Park both inside the cave and out.
It is the best photo book ever published on the park.
The reproduction of the over 100 color photographs is outstanding.
If you have ever been to Mammoth Cave or are thinking about visiting the park, this book is a must.

An amazingly thorough sensitive immersion in a captivitatingly unique geological ecology. Take A Bow!

Mr. Caudill's stories about the people of the hills and their times had a few problems. As I was reading the book, I came across a story regarding my great-great grandfather and his demise. The story was told in the third person by someone claiming to be a grand-daughter of the person in the story. I did a little research of my own and found that the person used to tell the story was not a family member of the main person (my great-great-grandfather)and, in fact, was not related to our family at all. When I brought this story up at a family reunion, I was told the author "took creative liberties" with the story to make it a better story then it was.
In short, be careful what you read.

Regardless of whether these stories are biographies or bio-fictions, Mr.Caudill shows excellent writting skills in his
story telling. Sitting at the knees of story-tellers in the
south there was always some fiction thrown in with the truth.

Each story was as enthralling and detailed of the lives of
hard working mountain people as the next. With Mr.Caudill
being an attorney, some stories told the legal hardships people
endured.

I found it to be a quite exceptional book and I have dozens and
dozens of "Mountain People" books to compare it to. I did feel
like I was sitting on the porch, after dinner clean-up, with
a story teller. Yes, I enjoyed this book very much and I
would recommend it to anyone who likes to hear stories of the
Appalachian people. He zeroes in on particular counties around
the southeastern part of Kentucky and he mentions places that
some of us know all too well.

My absolute favorite short story in this book was the title
"The Mountain, The Miner and The Lord" which showed me great
strength, determination and grande love that we each should
practice. There are times when I feel weak, I think about that
particular story and it truly strengthens me with the "I can
do this" driven attitude.

I think this book is an excellent and accurate account of the stories and traditions of this area. Having been associated with south-eastern Kentucky all my life,I can attest to many of the characters and nearly all the places he mentions. Who of us with close ties to Appalachia hasn't heard of the wild politics of Kentucky mountain people, not just 150 years ago, but in recent years as well? His account of why life is as hard as it is for these people (and was for their ancestors) is right on target!